# Imbroglio — user reviews

> 107 indexed App Store user reviews of Imbroglio by Michael Brough, rated 4.80/5 from 109 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/imbroglio/id969264934/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/imbroglio/id969264934.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 99 · 4★ 1 · 3★ 5 · 2★ 3 · 1★ 1

## What do users think of Imbroglio?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🎮 Exceptional strategic depth and complexity
- 🧩 Brilliant puzzle-roguelike hybrid gameplay
- 🎯 Elegant minimalist design with tight mechanics
- 🔄 Extremely high replayability and longevity
- 💰 No pay-to-win mechanics or predatory IAPs
- 📱 Perfect for mobile one-handed play
- 🎨 Charming aesthetic and sound design
- 🏆 Incredible balance across multiple characters and weapons
- 🧠 Rewarding learning curve with satisfying mastery
- 🎪 Unique deck-building element with customizable boards
- ⏱️ Works great for short or long gaming sessions
- 🔧 Responsive developer with regular updates

**Cons**

- 📖 Steep learning curve with confusing initial mechanics
- 📝 Minimal tutorial and unclear instructions
- 🎯 Extremely difficult and punishing gameplay
- 🎲 Heavy reliance on RNG and randomness
- 📱 Tiny text that's hard to read
- 🔲 Very small 4x4 grid causes frustration
- 🎨 Simplistic character art quality
- 🔊 Limited sound design (repetitive guitar notes)
- 🎮 Overwhelming number of weapon options
- 🚫 Limited control options (forced shooting in certain positions)
- 🎪 Unbalanced difficulty spikes at higher levels

**Commonly reported bugs**

- iOS 11 compatibility crashes on startup
- Character unlock not persisting after reinstall unless high score beaten
- Game crashes when opening on certain iOS versions
- Harry build exploit allowing use of outlawed range options via copied boards
- Wall shift mechanics occasionally trapping player in worst positions

**Most requested features**

- Tutorial or better onboarding for new players
- Larger text size option for readability
- Random board generation option
- Ability to replay custom boards multiple times
- Pass/skip turn option for tactical flexibility
- iPhone X native screen support (resolved in updates)
- Music soundtrack addition
- Option to use earlier game rulesets with progress tracking
- Randomize board button in edit screen
- More detailed help documentation

## Newest reviews (18 of 107)

### 5/5 — Back working....five stars

*2020-05-09*

Yay back working....well done I can now get back to swiping.

### 5/5 — Masterful Tactics!

*2020-05-09*

Imbroglio rules in many ways. Its awesomeness is impossible to overstate. It is challenging, clever, complex, and boss.

### 5/5 — Love new mode with one big exception

*2020-05-09*

You can read other reviews for general impressions of the game, but in general this is a near perfect game. I love the new draft mode, except that you can only play the level you create once. It takes too long to be recreating boards over and over to only be able to play it once. Unless I am missing something. Please please change that so we can play each board unlimited until we decide to move onto the next board.

### 5/5 — A near perfect game

*2020-05-09*

Imbroglio is possibly the most elegant game I’ve ever played.

### 5/5 — Amazing!

*2020-05-09, version 1.09c*

A truly incredible game, and it explores its mechanics to its utmost.

### 5/5 — One of the best games ever played

*2020-04-27, version 1.08b*

The only game I never delete from my iphone. Hats off Michael Brough, a true artist of our times

### 5/5 — Love it, simple and endlessly deep

*2020-04-12*

One comment on recent patch - you can still use Harry build with now-outlawed range-ish options by copying a friends board that used them back when they were legal. I would prefer to see, and ideally help develop if I were better, a new Harry meta. I like that last sentence.

### 5/5 — I keep coming back

*2020-03-13*

I’ve never wrote a review till now. This game is the one that deserves it. It’s challenging, has high replayability, and is mostly fair. 90% of my losses in this game are my own fault. Occasionally the wall shifts will trap me in the worst possible position, but plan accordingly and this shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve been playing this for years now. It’s the only game that I’ve never deleted from my phone.

### 5/5 — Exzellent!

*2019-10-05*

Hier ausschließlich die Negativaspekte:

1. Auf dem iPhone schlecht lesbare Texte, da zu kleine Schrift
2. Sehr spärliche, englische Anleitung
3. Sehr eigenwillige Präsentation und Soundkulisse (geschmacksache)

### 5/5 — Amazing

*2019-08-08*

Each of Michael Brough’s games are a masterpiece in original design, and Imbroglio has to be best of them.  Strategy, tactics, depth and planning, yet all handled by a smooth UI which is perfect for one handed, turn based play.

### 5/5 — One of the Best!

*2019-07-15*

Imbroglio is one of the best puzzle/roguelikes on the app store, simple grid simple mechanics but a ton of strategic depth between the characters and cards and the board changes each time after picking up the star really keeps you thinking! Im a big fan of Brough’s games, minimalist designs but lots of depth. Should be featured constantly on the app stores best puzzle/board/strategy front pages. Never leaves my phone, thanks Mr. Brough!

### 5/5 — Deep, Challenging, Engaging

*2018-12-22*

Perfect for a train commute. Turn based, challenging, doesn’t get old. Love it!

### 5/5 — Brilliant! Huge replayability

*2018-11-05*

I’ve played hundreds of games for 30 years. I am very picky and most games bore me. This game is great. It can be replayed over and over because you can change the “tiles” that the character attacks from.

### 5/5 — Awesome

*2018-04-19*

But I wish it supported iPhone X screen.

### 5/5 — So excited

*2018-04-11*

One of the best games on the app store. So excited for an expansion! Thanks Brough!

### 5/5 — Pretty Perfect (when you lose it will be entirely your fault)

*2018-04-09*

One of the truly rate games where skillful play is more important than luck or IAPs (of which there are none except for the expansion pack). A massive variety of weapons, adventurers, and monsters; All balanced to perfection. At first, you won't know why you are dying so fast, but keep playing and the light will come on.

And... iPhone X native screen support!

### 5/5 — My favorite game

*2018-01-24*

Will always have a place on my phone. This game is incredibly rewarding when you figure out how to succeed. It makes you feel smart. And it's fun. This never gets old.

### 5/5 — Argh!

*2017-10-07*

This is a great app!  However, I just downloaded IOS 11 and now I can’t get it work at all.  Please fix 😝

## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated)

### 2/5 — Absolute doo-doo

*2019-06-07, version 1.07*

I want my four dollars back

### 2/5 — Tiny Text!

*2019-05-14*

I can hardly read the tiny text! I agree with other reviews, the game is confusing and the instructions make no sense! Only worth1$ IMO.

### 2/5 — I want to like this game, I really do...

*2016-12-02, version 1.03b*

I'll get to the point, this game is completely and utterly about the RNG is uses. It's charming as charming can be, but time and time again, the ability to get a nice jive going relies entirely on if the computer doesn't screw you. And it will, time and again. Go ahead! Download the boards that others got top scores on. They won't matter. You'll get spammed a certain enemy or get stuck in a randomly generated corner... I want to say that strategy is involved, but I really truly can't agree anymore.

My other annoyance is that it's certainly not a casual game. The way the difficulty revs up isn't based on your current advancement, but how many moves you've made from the beginning. That means, you can't make any missteps, and if rng gave you a couple long routes early on, you might as well give up. And worse, since your health is so low, you are simply not allowed such "unfortunate circumstances."

Making a challenging game should involve more than rng. And unfortunately, based on the rigid parameters this game gives you, that's all you're left with in Imbroglio. I would suggest just getting a pair of dice, guessing a number, and then rolling for it. You will have the same experience, ultimately.

### 2/5 — Boring

*2016-07-03*

Glimmers of clever, ends up feeling tedious and dull.

### 3/5 — Was fun, now crashes on iOS 11

*2017-10-06*

This was one of my favorite time wasters but now it crashes when I try to open it

### 3/5 — Great game; Crashes on iOS 11

*2017-09-26*

Imbroglio is a simple, yet engaging game that will keep you coming back. Setting up fun boards to play on is great and the options for how to play are many.

Please address the app crashes caused by iOS 11. The app often crashes on startup, but once you get it going (after potentially many tries) it works fine.

### 3/5 — Hmmm

*2017-09-13*

I dont like giving bad reviews but it wasnt what i was expecting, i think the blurb bit should tell you more about what you are actually going to be doing, i dont feel like there is any skill involved but maybe i am just missing the point?

### 3/5 — Confusing and needs a tutorial

*2017-06-24*

This game makes no sense when you first start so it seems like it is no fun right off the bat. There needs to be a tutorial showing how to play. I had no idea what I was doing for the first 15 minutes and then I quit out of frustration.

### 3/5 — Needs Improvement (Author: please read)

*2017-03-20, version 1.04*

Ok. I like this game. But it has a lot of wasted potential in my opinion. I've also played and love Zaga-33, also by the artist here, and I feel similarly about it, but not as strongly. Zaga is intended to be a random adventure, but it has a reachable goal. The unbalanced weapon upgrade goals remove a "sense of accomplishment" in Imbroglio due to the flaws I'll hereafter mention.

First and foremost, there are mechanics that make this an exasperating game that just need to be changed: 1) when you're in a corner and on a ranged space, aiming at two enemies, sometimes the better choice is to move out of the corner, but the game only allows you to shoot; 2) If you can only unlock board changing for a character after you get a certain number of gems, you need to make the default board accessibly completable. These flaws inhibit straight playability for anyone and everyone.

Not even looking at these problems, there are just some annoying aspects of the game itself that could be changed. First, the randomness of the game turns all aspects of strategy into a facade. Think you're a pro? Nope, just lucky one shots, gem spawns, and mazes. Not very good? Maybe you're just getting screwed by corner generation, spawns, and fixed difficulty ramping. Of course strategy games can be semi-random. That's most RPGs. But when you depend on the randomness to succeed for the majority of your journey to 100 gems, that's silly.

Second are the screw-you-over movement mechanics. In Zaga, you have enough health for this to make the game interesting. It also feels somewhat realistic: you get trapped, you have to take a hit. However, in Imbroglio, you have 4 hits and an incredibly small map with walls. If an enemy spawns on an off turn, you have to take a hit. If you're a certain character against a certain enemy, that can mean you literally can't kill it. Even at full health. And if you run to a gem (if you can), another enemy will spawn in, creating a cycle of death. Imbroglio deserves a circumvention to this mechanic, like a pass option. That would require strategy, and would maintain the game's intended difficulty.

I'll stop there with the problems and say that this is a noteworthy game: it just needs developer attention and a couple of buffs. To anyone considering purchase, try it out, it's worth the money. However, I would recommend Zaga-33 as a substitute, though.

### 3/5 — Pretty Fun

*2017-01-17, version 1.03b*

I'm starting to figure out this game as I go along, and I do like the concept and design, it's the kind of game I enjoy. Frustrating at times but still enjoyable. I like that there are no IAPs.

## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated)

### 5/5 — Elegant, simple and deep

*2026-05-22, version 1.09c*

Just a beautiful, elegant, simple, deep game! Perfect controls for mobile. Thank you.

### 5/5 — The best game since nethack

*2025-10-07*

I understand it now….

### 5/5 — シンプルながら奥深い！

*2025-02-22*

とにかくやってみるべし！ハマるぜ！

### 5/5 — Masterpiece

*2024-05-05*

So much brilliance packed into a small space.

### 5/5 — It grows on you

*2023-07-19*

It’s entertaining, and you don’t realize the hours are going by.

I think there’s a bug, though, where if you unlock a character and then delete and re-install the game, it won’t unlock them again unless you beat your high score (saved in Game Center). Be wary of this; hopefully dev can fix it one of these days.

### 5/5 — これは凄い

*2023-05-04*

見た目が特殊過ぎるがこれは面白い。凄い。なんだこれは。

### 5/5 — パズル版slay the spireと呼びたい

*2023-04-29*

見た目からは想像つかないけど、とても面白い。時間が溶ける。1マスずつ移動して敵を攻撃して倒し、紫の星を取るゲーム。星を取るとランダムでステージが再構成され、敵を倒し星を取る繰り返し。マスごとに絵が描いてあるけど、これが武器を意味する。敵もプレイヤーも赤と青のポイントを持っており、どちらかがなくなったら死ぬ。武器も赤と青それぞれを攻撃するものに分かれている。敵を倒すとその武器に経験値が入り、4体(たぶん)倒すと武器がレベルアップする。レベル4まで上がる。武器によっては他の敵も同時に攻撃するとか体力回復とか自分の体力削ってスタンとかテレポートするとか呪いをかけるとか、ほんとに様々な効果がある。レベルアップで解放されるスキルもあるので、どの武器を育てるか考えながら倒すことになる。そして武器の配置は最初は決まってるけど自分で並べ替えられるようになる。カードゲームでデッキを組む感覚に近く、とても悩むことになる。無課金で8キャラ使用可能で、キャラごとに特有のスキル、使える武器の種類が変わるので、キャラごとにデッキを考える楽しみもある。ジャンルは違うけど、プレイ感はslay the spireに少し似たものも感じる。だいたい1プレイ30分かかるけど、感覚ではあっという間に終わって延々と続けて時間が溶ける。

### 5/5 — Classic gem

*2023-01-15*

If you like puzzle games, rogue-likes, or games like Threes, this is a must-have. It’s been on my devices for many years and is still one of my favorites. Takes a bit to grok, but once you do… it has incredible depth and replay value.

### 5/5 — Function over fashion.

*2021-11-09, version 1.09c*

Having played both Imbroglio and Cinco Paus, and reading a bit about the developer, I gather that he prioritizes gameplay over aesthetics. I’d say that shines through pretty well for me with both. I also happen to like the visual presentations. These both play like timeless classics. Recommended.

### 5/5 — Thank you for the updates!

*2021-03-07*

Very responsive and talented developer with skills all around.  I have probably spent 4 full months of my life playing Imbroglio and look forward to playing a lot more with a revamp of the basics and Mizzenmast.  Who needs a battery-roasting game world when you can explore a perilous 4x4 grid with brilliant gameplay?

Update: crying with laughter at using the Shopkeeper.  Using Lightkeeper’s Candle (gain runes at start of game) and Bonesnare (when runes are gained, hit the enemy here) killed me BEFORE I COULD MOVE 😂😂😂 I’m imagining Elephant Man bawling out I AM NOT AN ENEMY 😂 It is an awesome, brilliant and darkly amusing new world.  I thought Imbroglio would be tough to follow up on and if so, a little hard to reinvest in.  Oh my goodness do I love playing again.  Must buy. Just buy.  Likely the smartest and most original solo designer on the App Store.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-07.*